The Steel Guitar Forum

As I was setting up to play a fill-in gig Friday night, the sound man came over and mic'ed my amp and told me to play at a comfortable listening level for me, and he would handle the level out front. In the middle of our second song, the band leader walked over and tweaked my volume (up) for me. Trouble is, he got my pre gain considerably higher than my master. Not a good sound. After the song was over, he said he couldn't hear me well enough. I suggested he talk to the sound man to get it adjusted in the monitors, and if he ever wanted something different out of my amp, tell me and I'll make the adjustments.

This would be the circumstance for which the weight and mass of the PSG bar were "designed" as a deterrent force. As has been said before "Use the Force wisely....

It sounds like his intentions were ok. Now if he had turned me down, that would have pissed me off. You handled it the right way.

some people have been shot for things like this

I had that happen to me. After the first song with his setting, I told the band leader, "No more music til we get the sound right".

I ask him what he wanted, I gave it to him in my way (the correct way) and everything was hunky dory. (He later apologized.)
,

I was playing a show in Arkansas last week, when I lost my volume. I looked back and a soundman (a young kid)was turning my volume knob on my amp. I immediately jumped out of my seat and turned it back up. With my finger in his face, I sternly told him that you never, ever touch a man's amp.
Poor kid didn't know better. I think he was told to come tell me to turn down, but since we were in mid-song he thought it would be easier just to turn me down himself.
His boss later apologized

That would be cause for the two fingers in the eyes.....(3 stooges).......yuk yuk.

My fearless leader likes to come over to my side of the stage every night and say, "Rememver your mic'd tonight, keep it down." How boring........

Nick Reed wrote:some people have been shot for things like this

Touch my wife, don't touch my amp.

Why, I oughta...

I was playing a fairly large show here a few years ago. I sound checked with the amp set at 7 or 8 (NV112) and by showtime, I couldn't hear myself. Someone turned the master down to 1 or 2. Funny thing is nobody ever owned up to it.

I was honored to have been invited to play a show at Spokane, Wash., a few years back. A very good friend had the stage all set up for me and was in the process of having all of my songs recorded. Mic's were in front of the amp, etc.

This was some of the best sounding recordings I've ever had! The balance and all other aspects of recording were exceptionally fine. Right in the middle of my FAVORITE SONG, the speed went from normal down to nothing and then right back up to normal. It was determined that the young boy running the board, had been curious about one of the knobs and he elected to move it while I was playing.

He also chopped off some of my prized ENDINGS.

Oh well........it was a fun event.

That happened to me once. A bandmate thought he knew more about setting the amp than I did and helped himself to the controls when I wasn't looking. He actually didn't find it loud enough but I was just laying low on the volume pedal during some unfamiliar territory. Afterwards when I floored the volume it nearly blew the speaker out of the cranked up amp. Now he keeps his fingers to himself.

I had a singer?bandleader tell me I was too loud one time,so I turned down & still it wasn't enough for him. I was in the middle of a solo & my sound changed drastictly. I turned & looked and he had turned my amp sideways facing the wall on our right side! I got up & turned my amp back around & finished the set. I got in his face out in the parking lot on break & we ended up in a wrasslin' match. I packed up my stuff & never worked for the ol' boy again!

Roger Crawford is a Gentleman, Personally I vote for shooting.

Derrick wrote[you can touch my wife,don't touch my amp.] You CAN touch my wife, But leave my WOMAN alone.YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

pleeese honey don't hit me again, I was just kidding. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Any bandleader or club sound man (defined: "guy who owns a soldering iron") who touches my controls during a gig is going to get a George L enema....

Asking is one thing - screwing with someone else's equipment is absolutely wrong.

Hmm..similar thing happened to me one night. Sound guy was in my face after the first set, but all the guys in the band thought my volume was right for the room and the stage. They told me to ignore him.

Part way through the first song I felt something hit me in the side of the head. It was the soundman throwing ice at me. I promptly stood up, shut my amp off, and began to pack up my gear. Some friends of the band had a short "conversation" with Mr. Sound Expert and we finished the night sans FOH engineer.

A bar maid once threatened to unplug our equipment if we didn't turn down.I told her fine do that, just let me know which arm you won't be needin' for a while.

Oh I like times like that, I always look who is messing with my amp if its someone on the stage I smile as they adjust but in the next song I walk over and do the same thing to there amp. after a few times with that game the night gets better. if a sound man comes up and fools with it when he leaves I put it back to where it was. he has to walk alot more to do this and will get tired of it after a few times while I sit and smile as he makes those 100 trips.

Of course you could set all your sounds on your Profex or similar and go into the amp's power amp in.
Then one could comfortably say "Twiddle away to your heart's content Mr. whomsoever.."

there amp

??

Anybody who tweaks my amp will get an immediate attitude adjustment in response.

The singer I am working with now likes the steel very loud. I bring 2 amps. One I set for the soundman that is mic'd. The other is for stage volume. That way I can adjust to whatever makes the boss happy without screwing up the room sound.

One basic thing to keep sound guys out of your way is to make sure that you never point the amp in there direction. Make them find it with the house system.

If a singer is bothered by my playing that generally means I am doing something wrong.

Someone tweaking my amp was my least problem during one hi-profile job that I was hired to do.

At the filming of a television show the engineers decided that the amps should not be visable, so they were placed behind a curtain despite the protestations of the musicians that they couldn't hear them well enough to play.

The trainwreck result was obvious in the final result. I never again allowed non-musicians to determine the parameters of my playing.

Bob,
I'm just curious about the 2 amps-thing. Doesn't that create problems when you're playing in small places, with one amp considerably louder than the other? I only use one amp, and soundguys often ask me to turn it down during soundcheck. (And I really don't play insanely loud...) I'd guess that two amps would make my problem worse...

-Ask